The present invention is a mattress to be used as a bed or a part thereof or with a crib. More particularly it involves a mattress and inset combination that provides protection from roll outs or bumps for people, particularly children, while they are sleeping on the mattress with the inset removed. With the inset not removed, the mattress has the appearance of a common flat mattress.
Protecting people from rolling out of bed while they sleep, be it in a crib, on a bed or other sleeping surface, usually involves the use of some type of accessory to go with the basic mattress or sleeping surface. Side guard pads and rail guards are two of the most common devices used and may be viewed anywhere children's bedding is sold. Also available are pad rings that are placed on top of a mattress. These methods have problems which are solved by our mattress.
Pad type side guards and rings usually tie to rail side guards or to crib or bassinet sides. They are cumbersome and in need of continual retying or adjustment. Frequently, after regular use, they sag, tear or loose their shape. A common fear is that children can get caught in them and their accessories and be at risk for injury and possible strangulation.
Rail guards, also known as side rails, are difficult to put into place because they must attach to a bed frame or have a part that must be placed between mattresses. The support bars between mattresses can tear sheets and wear holes in the mattresses and covers. The rails are also inconvenient for the person who has to make the bed.
Side rails are often made of hard materials and are difficult to keep in place as well as maneuver. They are painful to roll into, and the spaces between the rails and the bed are seen by many customers as being sufficient to entrap a child.
Recent news reports have revealed the injury risk with rails and, in some cases, given notice of recalls of them to prevent injury and/or fatality.
Numerous inventions have emphasized problems in protecting against rolling out of bed. Pollard, U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,509, has suggested a sheet fitted with attachable foam insets which is difficult to launder. Kaufman and Tabler, U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,779, invented a crib mattress with attached wing-like side pads that are tied to existing rails, but present the same poor safety image as side pads. Ikeda, U.S. Pat. No. 4,286,344, suggests a mattress with built-in or attached side ridges to help prevent a person from rolling off a bed, but the resulting bed cannot be used as a normal flat bed for a sleeper not at risk from a fall.
All previous art teaches adding something to a bed, and then storing that something if the bed is to be used normally; or else dedicating the bed to always be used with bumper features. The present invention teaches the practicality of simply removing an inset from a normal looking and feeling mattress, making a mattress with bumpers.